Preakness 2012 Favorites: Why You Must Take I'll Have Another in This Race

There's no question who the sentimental favorite is in the 137th running of the Preakness Stakes, as the vast majority of racing fans will be rooting for Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another to bring home the second jewel in thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown.

However, oddsmakers aren't the sentimental type, and I'll Have Another isn't the favorite in their eyes. Derby runner-up Bodemeister has been installed as an 3-2 favorite, while I'll Have Another is coming off at 3-1 according to Bovada.

Granted, Bodemeister is probably the fastest horse in the field, as evidenced by the blistering pace that the colt set early in the Kentucky Derby before tiring late and opening the door for I'll Have Another to capture the Run for the Roses.

Also, the Preakness, at only 1 3/16 miles, is the shortest Triple Crown race. With the weather expected to be beautiful, a fast track would seem to benefit Bodemeister, especially with no other sprinters in the field to spur the horse into an overly quick early pace.

However, it's a little too early to go crowning anyone just yet, and there are a number of valid reasons why you should not only be rooting for I'll Have Another, but the three-year-old has a solid shot of pulling off yet another "upset."

First, every racing fan who isn't betting on Bodemeister (where legal, of course) should be pulling for I'll Have Another for the obvious reason that hopes of a Triple Crown winner rest squarely with him.

No horse has accomplished the feat since Affirmed in 1978, and I can guarantee you that the promoters of the Belmont Stakes next month would much rather prefer to talk about a potential Triple Crown winner than try to generate some drama from thin air.

Also, while Bodemeister is a fine animal, he's no shoo-in to win the race. There's always the possibility that Bodemeister could once again overexert himself early and tire down the stretch, a possibility that may have been amplified by the horse's heavy schedule over the past few months according to Andrew Beyer of The Washington Post.

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At Pimlico there is only one reason to question Bodemeister, and it has nothing to do with his talent. The colt has crammed his whole five-race career into the span of four months, and the exertions may have taken a toll on him.

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Even if Bodemeister leaves the gate at Pimlico in top form, that doesn't necessarily spell doom for I'll Have Another, as he isn't exactly a nag (he did catch Bodemeister at Churchill Downs after all). As Bill Finley of ESPN reports, there is a game plan by which I'll Have Another might again lose the battle of early speed, but win the war of crossing the finish line first.

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I'll Have Another displayed tactical speed in most of his races and was even in front early last year in a couple of sprints. The game plan for him seems fairly obvious: Don't go out there with Bodemeister, but stay close enough so that he doesn't get away from you. I'll Have Another should be two to three lengths behind Bodemeister after the opening five furlongs and then he and Mario Gutierrez will have to reel him in. It can happen.

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It's not going to be easy for I'll Have Another to once again out-duel Bodemeister and the other entrants in the Preakness, and it will take another nearly flawless ride from jockey Mario Gutierrez to bring home a win in Baltimore.

Since 2000, the horse that won the Kentucky Derby has also gone on to win the Preakness four times. Both die-hard and casual horse racing fans alike should be hoping with all their hearts that I'll Have Another makes it five, becoming the first horse since Big Brown in 2008 to enter the Belmont Stakes with horse racing's most fabled prize on the line.

After all, isn't it just more fun that way?